I am not going to sit here and try and say that I think there is something worse than having to write an essay, I know, that sounds terrible, especially with everything happening in today’s society, but really, when a teacher tells me I have to write an essay I get this pit in my stomach like when you know something bad is about to happen. The three things that go through my head are the due date, the first draft and the revision process, all which contribute to the now giant hole in my stomach. In Nancy Sommers “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers” excerpt, she gives examples of both student and experienced writers ideas of revision strategies. From Sommers research, she concludes that the student writer focuses mainly on word by word revision, unlike the experienced writer, who for the most part state that their “rewriting is a constant process.” Although I agree with Sommers to the point that student writers could definitely use some practice when it comes to revision, I cannot accept her overall conclusion that student writers all posses these same informal revision habits.
Thinking back to when I was first taught even just how to write a paragraph, I remember focusing mainly on grammar and spelling, punctuation, and the overall proper structure of the sentences and paragraph. I remember being taught to first revise the basic elements of the paragraph and then, after focusing on the paragraph as a whole, making sure the ideas were all there, supporting the thesis of course, and that I hadn’t trailed off onto a different subject. Teachers seemed like they tried to imprint good revision habits on us at an early stage in our writing careers, but I have to admit, procrastination most likely plays a bigger role than any student is willing to admit. Where a teacher would give an assignment with a due date well into the future, it becomes easier to put the assignment aside and focus on what other classes needed our immediate attention. This is the part where I agree with Sommers, and her opinion of the student writer’s revision process. How can a student properly revise, when procrastination barely leaves time to even write the paper in the first place? It almost leaves us no choice but to read over the paper only looking at the micro issues as opposed to rewriting actual paragraphs, sentences or if it is necessary, the entire paper, and even worse, we only have ourselves to blame.
Sommers points out that, “The students understand the revision process as a rewording activity.” Although I do not think this is how every student revises every paper he or she writes in college, there is of course, some truth to her statement. When I revise for school, as much as I would like to say I always focus on writing for my audience and on the big picture of my paper, this doesn’t always happen. Sometimes revising, as important as it really is, just seems so tedious. It’s hard to put so much effort into a paper, knowing that I might have to go back and rewrite huge parts of it. This attitude toward revision is a major difference in the student writer and the experienced writer, because the experienced writer always recognizes the importance of a thorough revision process. Never-the-less, when I do write a paper, I tend to try and revise as I go, writing a paragraph or even a few sentences, and then going back to reread them, making sure they flow and are actually saying what I am meaning them to say. After I have finished the entire paper, I try to give myself some space, do something to get my mind focusing on anything but the paper, so that I can hopefully come back later with a different mindset so when I read over my paper, I will be able to see any mistakes I previously missed.
Ultimately, when it comes to how I learned my revision techniques, it is a combination of what I have been taught by teachers, and unfortunately, what I feel is appropriate. Reading Sommers has definitely opened up my eyes to just how bad my writing and revision habits actually are.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Writing Guide- Final Draft
How to write a paper? How to write an essay? How do you write an assignment that will be interesting and engaging, informative enough to answer everything the prompt the teacher may or may not have given you and get you a good grade. Learning to write is a constant process. For some people, the few lucky ones, writing comes naturally, but for others, the majority of us, it takes time to get the hang of it. Maybe your high school English teachers prepared you for college level writing, and maybe you don’t even think there will be a big difference, but college professors really do expect more from their students. So far, what I have experienced from college writing classes is that you need to have some sort of process, a set of guidelines to follow when you are given a writing assignment. Although I am still learning to be more confident and comfortable in my writing, here are a few techniques I use, that will hopefully be helpful to you as well.
The first thing you are going to want to do when given the writing assignment is organize your ideas. Make an outline, brainstorm and just jot down a few notes, do something to make sure you are not going into this assignment totally blind. Most likely you will be given a prompt, make sure you understand it, dissect it, and when you are brainstorming and/or writing an outline, stay on topic of what the prompt is asking of you. If there is reading involved or any necessary research, be well prepared; writing a paper is hard enough work, actually having a strong grasp of what you are writing about will definitely be to your advantage. Also, if your teacher has given you any tools, i.e. books, excerpts, essays, utilize them! Believe it or not, the professor more than likely put some effort into picking these things out to be helpful for you. Which brings me to the professors themselves, they want to help you, so don’t be afraid to ask them questions if you don’t completely understand the assignment or just want them to read over your paper before you turn it in, it will only be to your benefit.
The next thing might be two of the most important things you are going to do regarding your writing assignment, writing your introduction and establishing your thesis. These two things are going to set up the vibe of your entire paper, and really set it up for the reader so they know what to expect when they are reading it.
Your introduction should be diverse, put some of your own character into it, but also make sure it’s not too playful by adding some facts or quotes to give it some solidity; you want to be taken seriously. Make all of the information valid; even if it has some character to it, you don’t want to veer off what the topic of the paper actually is. With that seriousness, you want to make it interesting, hook the reader so that they actually enjoy reading your paper.
Once you have introduced the paper, you have hopefully set yourself up for the thesis, the essential backbone of your paper. The thesis is like the road map to your paper, it should have the main idea of what you are going to be talking about in the next several paragraphs. The thesis is almost like a very formal list of what will be discussed in the remainder of the paper. Developing a thesis is not always the easiest thing to do, ergo, a book that I have found to be very helpful is, “They Say, I Say.” Using the templates they provide is a sure way to develop a strong thesis when you are beginning to write at the college level, and also a way to “enter the conversation” setting yourself up to now support you ideas with the remainder of the paper.
Once you have written an introduction paragraph, along with a strong thesis, you are ready to write the bulk of the paper, the body paragraphs. You may think that this is the part where you’re allowed to be wordy or repetitive, just get enough down to suffice the minimum length the paper is allowed to be; but guess what? You’re not in high school anymore, meaning what you write should be more than one thought rewritten several different ways. Use your thesis to stay on track and validate what your argument, analysis, or discussion for the paper is. This is where you can express yourself most, and really get the point you are trying to make across to the audience. Like I previously stated, use the thesis almost like a check list. If you said you were going to talk about “A, B and C,” make sure you hit all of those points, and be sure and refer back to the prompt for the essay.
After you have established your point of view, backing it up with your opinions and also some facts and maybe quotes, the conclusion comes along. This is the part where you pretty much summarize everything you have said in the paper, and also rewrite your thesis, remind the reader what they were looking to find when they first started reading the paper.
The final thing I suggest you do is REVISE!!! That’s right, revision is key. I know, I know, it’s the thing we dread most (apart from actually writing a paper), but it really is important. Now I am not saying revise your paper immediately after you have finished it, let it sit a while, go take a nap, or go to bed if you have been up writing it until 3 in the morning like I know so many of us do, take a walk, do something to get your mind off the paper. After you have let what you wrote digest, come back to it, reread it, I suggest out loud, and then see what parts can use work. Reword some parts; redo some sentences, even paragraphs if it is called for, but don’t just get the thesaurus out and start trying to make yourself sound smart, it will not make a significant difference.
Like I said, writing is a constant learning process, one which I don’t think anyone will ever completely master; but in time, you will develop your own techniques and hopefully your own style that will make you more comfortable writing.
The first thing you are going to want to do when given the writing assignment is organize your ideas. Make an outline, brainstorm and just jot down a few notes, do something to make sure you are not going into this assignment totally blind. Most likely you will be given a prompt, make sure you understand it, dissect it, and when you are brainstorming and/or writing an outline, stay on topic of what the prompt is asking of you. If there is reading involved or any necessary research, be well prepared; writing a paper is hard enough work, actually having a strong grasp of what you are writing about will definitely be to your advantage. Also, if your teacher has given you any tools, i.e. books, excerpts, essays, utilize them! Believe it or not, the professor more than likely put some effort into picking these things out to be helpful for you. Which brings me to the professors themselves, they want to help you, so don’t be afraid to ask them questions if you don’t completely understand the assignment or just want them to read over your paper before you turn it in, it will only be to your benefit.
The next thing might be two of the most important things you are going to do regarding your writing assignment, writing your introduction and establishing your thesis. These two things are going to set up the vibe of your entire paper, and really set it up for the reader so they know what to expect when they are reading it.
Your introduction should be diverse, put some of your own character into it, but also make sure it’s not too playful by adding some facts or quotes to give it some solidity; you want to be taken seriously. Make all of the information valid; even if it has some character to it, you don’t want to veer off what the topic of the paper actually is. With that seriousness, you want to make it interesting, hook the reader so that they actually enjoy reading your paper.
Once you have introduced the paper, you have hopefully set yourself up for the thesis, the essential backbone of your paper. The thesis is like the road map to your paper, it should have the main idea of what you are going to be talking about in the next several paragraphs. The thesis is almost like a very formal list of what will be discussed in the remainder of the paper. Developing a thesis is not always the easiest thing to do, ergo, a book that I have found to be very helpful is, “They Say, I Say.” Using the templates they provide is a sure way to develop a strong thesis when you are beginning to write at the college level, and also a way to “enter the conversation” setting yourself up to now support you ideas with the remainder of the paper.
Once you have written an introduction paragraph, along with a strong thesis, you are ready to write the bulk of the paper, the body paragraphs. You may think that this is the part where you’re allowed to be wordy or repetitive, just get enough down to suffice the minimum length the paper is allowed to be; but guess what? You’re not in high school anymore, meaning what you write should be more than one thought rewritten several different ways. Use your thesis to stay on track and validate what your argument, analysis, or discussion for the paper is. This is where you can express yourself most, and really get the point you are trying to make across to the audience. Like I previously stated, use the thesis almost like a check list. If you said you were going to talk about “A, B and C,” make sure you hit all of those points, and be sure and refer back to the prompt for the essay.
After you have established your point of view, backing it up with your opinions and also some facts and maybe quotes, the conclusion comes along. This is the part where you pretty much summarize everything you have said in the paper, and also rewrite your thesis, remind the reader what they were looking to find when they first started reading the paper.
The final thing I suggest you do is REVISE!!! That’s right, revision is key. I know, I know, it’s the thing we dread most (apart from actually writing a paper), but it really is important. Now I am not saying revise your paper immediately after you have finished it, let it sit a while, go take a nap, or go to bed if you have been up writing it until 3 in the morning like I know so many of us do, take a walk, do something to get your mind off the paper. After you have let what you wrote digest, come back to it, reread it, I suggest out loud, and then see what parts can use work. Reword some parts; redo some sentences, even paragraphs if it is called for, but don’t just get the thesaurus out and start trying to make yourself sound smart, it will not make a significant difference.
Like I said, writing is a constant learning process, one which I don’t think anyone will ever completely master; but in time, you will develop your own techniques and hopefully your own style that will make you more comfortable writing.
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